WazirX, considered one of India’s largest crypto exchanges, introduced its plan to restart operations on October 24, following a crippling safety breach in July 2024 that resulted in over $230 million in losses.
The trade’s return to the market indicators the profitable conclusion of a posh, 16-month restructuring and restoration course of.
The trail to relaunch
The hack, which concerned a safety breach of a digital pockets, had compelled WazirX to droop buying and selling and withdrawals, leaving tons of of 1000’s of Indian buyers with locked funds. The trade pursued its post-hack restructuring by way of the Excessive Courtroom of Singapore—a choice that originally drew criticism from customers however in the end offered a transparent authorized path for decision. The restructuring scheme, which was voted on and accredited by a majority of collectors in two separate rounds, paved the best way for the trade to rebalance tokens and put together for a phased relaunch.
On October 23, WazirX founder Nischal Shetty confirmed that the ‘funds’ web page with rebalanced tokens was reside, and each crypto and Indian Rupee (INR) deposits had been open. Crucially, crypto buying and selling and withdrawals had been slated to renew on October 24.
Deal with safety and buyer re-engagement
To regain buyer belief and improve safety, WazirX introduced a partnership with BitGo, a world-class institutional custodian, so as to add an “further layer of belief and safety” with world-class custody requirements. The relaunch will start in a phased method, beginning with some crypto pairs and the USDT/INR pair, earlier than increasing to further markets. As a re-engagement supply, the trade is launching with 0% buying and selling charges throughout all buying and selling pairs.
Whereas the restart brings reduction, the instant focus for a lot of long-waiting customers is to withdraw their locked funds and verify the ultimate worth of their holdings after the in depth restructuring. The occasion serves as a high-profile reminder of the significance of safe, clear, and compliant custody within the digital asset area, particularly for exchanges serving huge, quickly adopting markets like India.
